Post by LIAM JAMES MADDOX on Sept 7, 2013 21:10:43 GMT
July 27th 2012
Ten years. It had been ten years since Liam had seen his older brother, Daniel. The last time he had seen him was at his hearing where he was given his life sentence for killing their father among other criminal activities he was found guilty of committing and being a part of. But now Liam wanted some information on an inmate in this prison. Another conman, only, this one was caught in the act unlike Liam but not before he stole an item that he and the group he worked with were interested in getting their hands on. Unfortunately, the conman in question wasn’t accepting any visitors and the group had no other way of getting into this high security prison to inquire the whereabouts of this item. Liam was a bit apprehensive to visit because the man he was visiting was part of his past and he didn’t enjoy anything about any of his past before he was twenty but, if all went well this would go smoothly. Liam had thought it through. He knew that at they would probably talk briefly about what had happened, maybe talk about the present and then Liam could ask him for his help and he knew there was also the chance of Daniel getting aggressive and being un-cooperative and in that case, Liam would leave it and him be.
After signing in the vistors book his name, time of arrival and the date a prison guard led him through a series of monitored, heavy, locked doors and bars before he finally entered the visiting room. Upon entering the room, Liam scanned the tables, before his eyes fell on his brother. Daniel was a lot rougher looking than Liam had remember, the man’s head was shaved, tattoos ran from the left side of his neck down to his arm from what he could see under the orange uniform. His brother's jaw was covered in stubble and it was evident that his nose had been broken more than a couple of times.
When Daniel looked over and saw him, a grin formed on his face, he stood up and threw his hands in the air “Look who finally decided to pay me a visit!” he exclaimed over-enthusiastically as Liam walked towards him.
When Daniel looked over and saw him, a grin formed on his face, he stood up and threw his hands in the air “Look who finally decided to pay me a visit!” he exclaimed over-enthusiastically as Liam walked towards him.
“Redferne.” A prison guard took a step towards him, as if ready to detain him whilst two other seemed on edge and ready also, prepared for if the man made any movements that can be considered aggressive or too manic. Daniel turned his head to the guard, raising his handcuffed hands up in the air in front of him in a sign of innocence “Sorry mate, just really happy to finally see me little brother.” Daniel replied, then calmly took a seat, his grin still fixed on his face as he gestured for Liam to take a seat opposite him. Liam slid into his seat and rested his hands on the table in front of him much like the way his older brother had “Sorry ‘bout that, Lee. Over the years I a’nt been the most cooperative guy in this joint, I can get a bit too excitable and aggressive sometimes so them blokes are jus’ doin’ their job and shit.” Daniel apologized.
“It’s fine.” Liam replied in his usual cold tone, expression completely void of any emotion. His brother’s smile faltered ever so slightly for a moment and he seemed to be watching his face then, as if searching for something.
“It’s been a while, Daniel.” He added.
Daniel’s lighter blue eyes flickered with an emotion that Liam was entirely sure of before the older man’s mouth broke into a long laugh “Ten fuckin’ years, Liam. I knew we could hold some pretty bad grudges against each other but ten years?” He spoke light-heartedly, in a jokey tone, ending it with a rhetorical question. Liam very slightly frowned at his older brother’s words, not really registering the jokey tone “I haven’t been holding grudge.” He replied but the moment those words left his lips one thought came straight to the front of his mind; he had. Liam had never really thought about it and had even convinced himself that he hadn’t cared about what had happened but now those words of denial left his lips, he knew that he had.
“Bullshit.” Daniel’s eyes hardened and his smile dropped for a moment when he called him out on his denial.
“But hey, can’t blame y’. I did beat the shit outta y’ and knocked you out with a baseball bat. Never got to say sorry ‘bout that by the way…you know what I get like when I’m pissed.” He added shortly afterwards, his smile returning. Only this time, it seemed more false than when he first grinned. The two brothers sat in silence for a brief moment, just looking at each other. There was a funny irony to how alike they looked behind Daniel's roughness and Liam's clean cut look but how they were such complete opposites . It had always been that way and was the reason why they found it so hard to click with each other in the past. If it weren’t for the fact they were so closely related in blood and grew up together, these two men would’ve probably hated each other in another life.
Daniel’s words made Liam think back to that night. The night everything changed. Liam had actually been out at his usual pool room, doing some very light hustling that night and he was there little longer than usual because some of the guys had bought him a drink. It was only half an hour later than usual but he always thought ever since it could’ve been a half an hour that could’ve mattered…when he did come home, the house was eerily dark and quiet. Usually there were some lights on and he could hear the faint sound of his little sister, Elodie’s, music from her room but this time…there was nothing. It rang alarm bells instantly, so he went upstairs in search of Elodie because if she wasn’t home, she always texted him to tell him so. Liam had considered, perhaps she was sleeping so he knocked lightly on her door first before, after receiving no response he cracked the door open, peeked in and saw her laying on her bed. He then lightly called out her name and asked if she was alright but he received no response which caused him to walk into the room, carefully moving over towards her, a niggling thought in the back of his mind over the lack of movement from her was something that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand. And then he saw the crimson and he remembered that internal heart dropping moment of absolute fear and panic. He sat on her bed and scooped her up into his arms, repeating her name over and over again, in an attempt to wake her even though he knew from his knowledge gained from reading medical books that it was all in vain. Then he tried to find her pulse but couldn’t find anything.
Liam internally shook that part of his memories from his mind though he did recall all the events that followed. His dad returning home. Him shouting and raging at the man, demanding to know why she would do this, knowing that he had to have done something. Then his dad telling him what sick, twisted things he had done with no fucking remorse what so ever which had caused the usually calm and collected Liam to lash out at the man. Then Daniel came home. Saw their sister. Saw everything. Liam explained. Then Daniel proceeded to beat their father to death.
You think it’d have stopped then. The violence. The man that had done this had been killed but, like Daniel said. Daniel took the fight to Liam also, to which Liam defended himself in. They fought each other, causing each other to bleed and bruise before Daniel took up a baseball bat and smacked him across the head. Knocking him out.
Luckily, that was when the police turned up before any further damage could be done but in the following few mess of days, Liam was angry at his brother. Daniel was upset and heart-broken over their sister’s death and yes, he had every right to be but to lash out at Liam also? It made young Liam angry because she was his little sister too. He loved her too. In that moment of time he didn’t think Daniel knew or appreciated that as he turned against Liam. But now, now he realized that maybe he did know it and that it was just simply in Daniel’s nature to turn against Liam also after what happened. His anger blinded him to the point where he just wanted to destroy everything and there Liam was, the brother that like himself, wasn’t there to protect their little sister. Liam understood to some extent now why Daniel did what he did- it didn’t make what he did right but, he kind of understood, though for many years he had held a grudge.
“I understand why you reacted the way you did…to some extent.” Liam replied with a slight nod. There was a small pause again before his brother’s smile shifted from something false to something more genuine because he knew that that was as close to a ‘I forgive you’ he would receive from Liam and it was good enough for him.
“Look at you though! From what I’ve heard you’re doin' pretty well. Got some money in your pocket.” Daniel nodded at his younger brother then taking his fist (of which first caused the prison guards to stir) and lightly nudged Liam backwards with it in a mock punch. As ever, Liam’s facial expression remained impassive despite his brother’s attempt to engage and be friendly with him, though, he was curious about how he had ‘heard he was doing pretty well'.
“You’ve been keeping tabs on me?” Liam asked.
Daniel waved his hand “Nah, not anymore at least. At first I did but then you turned into a sneaky bastard. You became a ghost in a way- a very hard man to find. Got a load of those aliases now an’t y’? Keepin’ pretty off the radar and shit but every now and then I hear from some mates on outside about a job one of those aliases has done.” He replied.
“Oh. Right.” Liam nodded slowly, not really confirming having 'a load of those aliases'.
“You’ve pulled off a lot of big cons, Lee.”
“Allegedly.” He responded, because Liam never confessed nor confirmed any of the crimes he had done unless it was to someone he trusted in a place he trusted. So of all the places, he definitely wasn’t going to confess to anything he had done in a prison to his brother.
Daniel slowly leaned forward then "Hey, is it true you were the one that stole that fifty mil' painting Egypt?” He asked in a hushed whisper with a small, curious smile.
Poppy Flowers by Vincent Van Gogh- that was the painting his brother was talking about. Stolen in August 2010 and allegedly, Liam Maddox was the culprit behind the job. But this man sitting in the chair in front of his brother wasn't Liam Maddox today, he was Liam Redferne and Liam Redferne had most certainly not stolen such a beautiful piece. Though, he had no doubt the man that did steal the magnificent painting had it hidden somewhere secure, unable to bring himself to fence such a gorgeous piece unless he absolutely needed to.
“The Van Gogh? No. I was in Italy during that heist.” The younger brother denied, just as he did and proved when the authorities came to him two years ago.
“Though, it's a shame it was stolen. It was a beautiful piece."
A wide smile broke across Daniel's face.
“Riiiight.”
“Right."
There was silence again between the two brothers. The two just looking at each other dead in the eye, Daniel trying to find some sign of something in Liam and Liam silently telling him that he wasn't going to get any information from him. The silence stretched out for some time again, before it was broken with a change in subject. "Soooo...what about uni, did y' ever end up goin'?" Daniel asked curiously.
"I have a few degrees." Liam answered. He might not have stepped foot on any University campuses and if you asked the professors that taught the courses he had degrees in, they wouldn't recall his name but he did have degrees and he had done...research.
"You're a smart man, Lee” Daniel commented, then paused for a moment as if trying to think of what to say. "I'm actually quite proud of y'. You’re a better crook then I was ever but you always had the brains and patience I never had. I was more of a thug, better at the grittier small money shit.” Daniel commented, seemingly swaying back toward their original conversation in his own way of complimenting his younger brother. It seemed that neither of them could talk like a normal family together...then again, their family had never been normal, why would that change after ten years of no contact?
The eldest brother's tone seemed to turn sentimental which was furthered by his next words “If El could only see us now. Her older brothers. One a convict serving a life sentence an' one a con man” He was no longer keeping eye contact with Liam, instead his eyes went to the wall behind him, a look in them which suggested he was looking back to the past. Replaying memories.
Daniel slowly leaned forward then "Hey, is it true you were the one that stole that fifty mil' painting Egypt?” He asked in a hushed whisper with a small, curious smile.
Poppy Flowers by Vincent Van Gogh- that was the painting his brother was talking about. Stolen in August 2010 and allegedly, Liam Maddox was the culprit behind the job. But this man sitting in the chair in front of his brother wasn't Liam Maddox today, he was Liam Redferne and Liam Redferne had most certainly not stolen such a beautiful piece. Though, he had no doubt the man that did steal the magnificent painting had it hidden somewhere secure, unable to bring himself to fence such a gorgeous piece unless he absolutely needed to.
“The Van Gogh? No. I was in Italy during that heist.” The younger brother denied, just as he did and proved when the authorities came to him two years ago.
“Though, it's a shame it was stolen. It was a beautiful piece."
A wide smile broke across Daniel's face.
“Riiiight.”
“Right."
There was silence again between the two brothers. The two just looking at each other dead in the eye, Daniel trying to find some sign of something in Liam and Liam silently telling him that he wasn't going to get any information from him. The silence stretched out for some time again, before it was broken with a change in subject. "Soooo...what about uni, did y' ever end up goin'?" Daniel asked curiously.
"I have a few degrees." Liam answered. He might not have stepped foot on any University campuses and if you asked the professors that taught the courses he had degrees in, they wouldn't recall his name but he did have degrees and he had done...research.
"You're a smart man, Lee” Daniel commented, then paused for a moment as if trying to think of what to say. "I'm actually quite proud of y'. You’re a better crook then I was ever but you always had the brains and patience I never had. I was more of a thug, better at the grittier small money shit.” Daniel commented, seemingly swaying back toward their original conversation in his own way of complimenting his younger brother. It seemed that neither of them could talk like a normal family together...then again, their family had never been normal, why would that change after ten years of no contact?
The eldest brother's tone seemed to turn sentimental which was furthered by his next words “If El could only see us now. Her older brothers. One a convict serving a life sentence an' one a con man” He was no longer keeping eye contact with Liam, instead his eyes went to the wall behind him, a look in them which suggested he was looking back to the past. Replaying memories.
“Well, she can’t. She’s dead.” Liam replied. Though he had had his moment of looking back earlier, Liam didn’t understand when people were being so sentimental in a way that they talked about things that would never come to be. He didn’t understand ‘what ifs’ or ‘if onlys’ because to him there was only ‘what is’. Nothing more. You can’t change the past, so why linger on fantasies of doing so? Liam didn’t understand and this quite clearly pissed Daniel off “You think I don’t fuckin’ know that, asshole?” He snapped.
“Then why talk about something that’s not possible?”
Daniel just glared at his brother, clearly trying to rein in the anger he felt inside and it was quiet for a moment as he took a couple of deep, calming breaths before he managed to gather himself enough to move on “You know what? I was readin’ this book-”
“You’ve been reading?” Liam interrupted with a raise of his eyebrow, genuinely surprised because the Daniel he knew never used to read. In fact, he remembered clearly his older brother saying that books were ‘shit’, ‘boring’ and a ‘waste of time’.
“Don’t sound so surprised, prick. Ten years in the slammer, remember?”
“Fair enough. Carry on.”
“Ten years and I figured out our problem. Our biggest weaknesses.” Daniel announced with a nod before stretching his arms as well as he could with his hands cuffed.
“Each of us ‘ave always been missin’ somethin’.” He added after a relaxed sigh. Though, Liam was becoming slightly confused about the transition of the conversation and what his brother was trying to say.
“You’re making no sense.” Liam replied.
Daniel waved him off "Let me continue then, idiot. I'm not finished yet."
“El…El never had any real strength to her, bless her. She wasn’t as strong as us mentally and emotionally. Y’know? Out of all of us, let’s be fair I’ve always had the brawn. But that’s the thing, I’ve always been the brawn, the strongest, the toughest but I never had the brains. No. You got them brains Lee, you were always the smartest. Always.” Daniel explained.
“El…El never had any real strength to her, bless her. She wasn’t as strong as us mentally and emotionally. Y’know? Out of all of us, let’s be fair I’ve always had the brawn. But that’s the thing, I’ve always been the brawn, the strongest, the toughest but I never had the brains. No. You got them brains Lee, you were always the smartest. Always.” Daniel explained.
“But you know what you’ve always been lacking in?” He questioned, finally regaining eye contact with his brother.
“What?” Liam replied, growing increasingly confused about where Daniel was going with his theory.
“Heart.”
Liam almost laughed then and the corners of his lips did pull up into a very small smile of amusement “Wizard of Oz. Are you really comparing us to characters from a children’s book?” He asked, though his tone came out slightly mockingly.
“Mind your fuckin’ tone, Lee.” Daniel snapped, that flare of anger behind his eyes returning and his clearly aggravated mood causing the guards to keep a closer eye on him in case he became any more aggressive. Liam didn’t apologize for his response knowing that Daniel would only take an apology as insincere and he didn’t want a fight with the man.
“I have a heart.” Liam replied having decided to instead finally touch on what his brother said. Daniel’s evaluation was wrong. Of course he had a heart.
“Yeah, you have an organ that pumps your fuckin’ blood through your veins. I din’t mean it like that and you know I don’t.” Daniel spoke, clearly still angered but reining in that anger and trying to keep his tone quiet and even.
“El always had more love and kindness in her than us both put together- which isn’t very hard. I’ll be the first to admit that I can be a pretty hard bastard but I always loved you and El. I always cared about others. But you Lee, yeah, you loved El but when 'ave you ever really loved or cared about anyone else? When’s the last time you stopped in the street and helped someone just out of charity? It even took you ten years to come see me. Your own brother and I know you have only come now because you want somethin' from me.
“You’re a fuckin’ cold, selfish bastard Lee. Yeah, maybe you 'aven’t always been selfish but you’ve always been cold and uncarin'. You 'aven’t even asked how I’ve been. You’ve never showed some heart to anyone. Even to El. Not until she had slit her wrists and bled out onto her bed.”
“That’s not fucking true.” Liam growled. Emotion breaking across his face. He was offended by what his brother said but as the words sunk in, sub-consciously he knew his brother was right. He didn’t care about anyone else, not truly. Apart from Elodie of course, and if he really thought about it he hadn’t show Elodie he loved and cared about her enough as he should’ve. Deep down, he knew it was true and it was one of the things that if he let himself think about, he’d beat himself up over.
“Isn’t it?”
“No.” Liam replied. He wanted to tell Daniel how much he really cared about him and El, how much he loved El. How he cried, how broken hearted he felt. How he wanted to have been the one that killed that sick bastard that drove her to committing suicide. But he couldn’t. He just couldn’t gather the words. Liam, as a conman always knew what to say, he never struggled for words but in this moment, on something so personal to him. Being himself…being Liam Redferne…words stuck on his tongue.
“Look at you, you can’t even express or say how you feel about our sister. About how you feel now. You just sit there, lookin’ completely empty. Y'know. I always thought that out the three of us, you were the most like dad.”
That struck him like a fist to the face. Liam’s hands balled into fists and his jaw clenched in the fury he felt over those words.
Like their father?
Their father was an abusive sociopath that didn’t have a single ounce of love or care in his body. Their father damned them all to a shit life the moment he married their mother. “Take. That. Back.” He spoke through clenched teeth. Daniel just looked at him, adopting Liam’s usual impassive expression and in that moment it was almost as if the two brothers had switched in personalities.
Like their father?
Their father was an abusive sociopath that didn’t have a single ounce of love or care in his body. Their father damned them all to a shit life the moment he married their mother. “Take. That. Back.” He spoke through clenched teeth. Daniel just looked at him, adopting Liam’s usual impassive expression and in that moment it was almost as if the two brothers had switched in personalities.
“No because it’s how I felt. What I thought. Actually, that’s what I was scared of coming in ‘ere. With all that had happened then El dyin' and me bein’ imprisoned? I was scared that without us- without someone in your life to remind you to keep that heart of yours in use and for you to care about, you’d become him.” Daniel watched him, as in that moment it felt like a thousand different emotions were going through Liam and it was showing on his exterior. It was as if the anger had lifted all the barriers and walls Liam had built to keep all his emotions at bay and now he was feeling all those negative feelings all at once. It was maddening.
“What, are we actually showin' some emotion now, Liam?” Daniel asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. Liam broke eye contact…he didn’t like this. He didn’t like it at all. Emotion was something that clouded sense and logic. It made him vulnerable. The younger of the two brothers didn’t answer to his older brother’s rhetorical question this time. He didn’t speak at all, he just sat there for a very long moment with his brother watching and tried to compose himself internally. Those words were just words. Nothing more. Weren’t they? No. No. He couldn’t let himself linger on self-doubt and insecurity. It was ridiculous. It took what seemed to be a long stretch of time for Liam to compose himself, rebuild those walls and put those barriers back up that stopped his emotions from wreaking havoc but, he eventually managed to do it. His hands were no longer fists, his jaw relaxed, his eyes were hardened again and his face was once again void of all emotion. “My choice to come here was a mistake. I didn’t take what just happened into the equation.” He spoke, tone cold and impassive again as his steel blue eyes reconnected with his brother’s cerulean ones.
“You’re unbelievable Lee. Absolutely un-fuckin’-believable.” Daniel said, tone laced with annoyance as he shook his head. It was clear then that he wanted a reaction from Liam. He wanted to see emotion but, Liam didn’t give him a reaction. He was just…done here. Screw what he had originally came here to ask, he would find out another way of getting the information he needed- a way not involving his older brother.
The younger brother stood up “I’ll be going now; I apologize for taking up your oh-so-valuable time. I hope you remain to be well and have fun with your new appreciation for books and reading.” He nodded to one of the prison guards, signalling that he was done here as he walked away from the table. As he was walking away, he heard his brother get up also before the man spoke out “Don’t fuckin’ leave you pussy, not without askin' whatever the hell you came here to ask because obviously din’t come here just to be ripped into.” He shouted but his words fell on deaf ears.
The younger brother stood up “I’ll be going now; I apologize for taking up your oh-so-valuable time. I hope you remain to be well and have fun with your new appreciation for books and reading.” He nodded to one of the prison guards, signalling that he was done here as he walked away from the table. As he was walking away, he heard his brother get up also before the man spoke out “Don’t fuckin’ leave you pussy, not without askin' whatever the hell you came here to ask because obviously din’t come here just to be ripped into.” He shouted but his words fell on deaf ears.
Liam had had enough brotherly bonding to last him another ten years.